The Pacific Northwest offers a road for every kind of car

You know your day’s going to be pretty good when you wake up to a gorgeous, sunny late summer morning in Oregon. It’s going to get even better with an amazing array of cars and an equally stunning variety of roads to drive them on.

Starting the morning in the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C, our route takes us east from Portland into the Columbia River Gorge, finishing with a hill climb to the bluffs overlooking the river. We let the red Alfa’s 237 hp reach full song through its raspy Italian exhaust.

The mid-engine 2-passenger Alfa 4C arrives from Modena, Italy, this fall with a starting price of $53,900. It’s tough to figure its direct competitors—it has more rough edges than a Porsche Cayman, but more finesse than a Corvette Stingray. A Lotus Evora is perhaps the closest match, but the Alfa’s put together so much better than the Lotus.

While 237 hp doesn’t sound like a supercar spec, remember that much of the 4C’s structure is carbon fiber and lightweight aluminum, and it’s wrapped in a composite body. That keeps the weight down to 2465 lb., allowing 0–60 sprints in the mid-4-sec. range.

If you’re used to American cockpits, the first thing you’ll notice is the lack of a shifter. Pushbuttons on the center console manage the dual-clutch gearbox, and paddle shifters rapidly change the ratios when you’re not operating in the automatic mode. There’s no power steering, but the 4C is so lithe that it’s not at all necessary.

The 4C’s connection to the road is wonderfully direct. Just point and go. The powertrain dynamics can be managed through an electronic “DNA” controller on the console. Choosing the “Dynamic” mode to reduce the traction management intrusion allows for just a bit of rotation. “All-weather” and “Natural” modes are included for more leisurely driving. A race mode completely disables the traction and stability nannies for track use.

As much as I hated to leave the 4C, the next car in the lineup was Dodge’s newest SRT monster, the 707-hp 2015 Challenger Hellcat. The route traveled south across farmland into the river valleys that border the Portland’s Bull Run watershed. Series after series of quickly descending twisties followed by uphill switchbacks wouldn’t seem like the best arena for the Hellcat’s substantial size and weight, but power and torque win out.

The Alfa 4C’s connection to the road is direct. The powertrain dynamics are managed through an electronic “DNA” controller on the console. the “Dynamic” mode reduces the traction management intrusion allowing just a bit of rotation.

As impressive as the 707 hp is, the 650 ft.-lb. of torque that the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi puts to the rear wheels is persuasive. This is the car you want. The long wheelbase helps keep the Hellcat on the right track and massive Brembo 6-piston front and 4-piston rear brakes bring the hefty Challenger down confidently to cornering speeds. For a vehicle that weighs nearly the same as a Honda Odyssey Minivan, the Hellcat is quite light on its feet.

With a base price of $59,595 the Hellcat is a steal. There’s simply nothing else on the market that can touch its horsepower-per-dollar ratio (at least until the 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat hits the road.) But if $60 grand is still a bit high for your tastes, Dodge is offering several different engines in the Challenger, ranging from the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 to a 6.4-liter naturally aspirated V-8 Hemi and the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi Hellcat.

The route continued south after a quick driver change in the city of Boring, Oregon—yes, that’s the name of the town, not a description. We consumed a Portland tourist staple: Voodoo doughnuts. They aren’t your run-of-the-mill breakfast foods with varieties that include bacon-topped maple bars and doughy glazed insults to your diet covered in Captain Crunch.

Moving south also brought a wide selection of hardware. After jumping out of the Hellcat, I gently lowered myself into the sumptuousness of a $350,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith and pressed the button to electrically close the reverse-mounted carriage doors. Then it was onto a baby blue Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible with a silky smooth engine that swept the $250,000 droptop effortlessly across the Oregon farmland.

Traveling into the Mt. Hood National Forest brought different approaches to sports cars, including the Scion FR-S and some perennial favorites on this route: the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Audi S4 and the latest incarnation of the Subaru WRX STI. After passing the timber town of Estacada, the road narrowed from the wide highway to Forest Service Road 47, which we followed all the way to the lunch stop on the shore of Detroit Lake in Detroit, Oregon. It’s a bit different than the other Detroit. Oregon’s has a population of just a few hundred.

From there it’s onto the Santiam Pass to cross the spine of the Oregon Cascades. Highway 20 is often impassible in the winter, but during the summer it’s one of the main routes to the state’s high desert playground. The sharp Cadillac ATS Coupe and the 2015 Mercedes C400 were right at home on this fast stretch of sweeping turns. It’s the place to wring out the Lexus IS-F, a vehicle soon to be replaced by the 2015 RC-F.

It would have been an easy hop into our overnight spot, but there was much more fun to be had. Diverting off of the Santiam Pass, the group headed south once again to Oregon Highway 242, known locally as the Old McKenzie Pass. Due to its elevation and topography, the road is only open from the early summer to the early fall.

It’s not to be missed when it is open. The scenic byway tightly winds its way through old growth forests where it suddenly opens up into the blackest seas of lava fields. It’s a road where drivers have a lot of fun, and passengers had better be prepared for drivers to have a lot of fun. It’s worth it for the scenery, with snow-capped peaks seemingly within walking distance.

Avoid the road on summer weekends, though, unless you enjoy the view of overloaded Subaru Outbacks going 20 mph with nowhere in sight to pass.

At the crest is the Dee Wright Observatory, a castle-like viewpoint made of  lava rock with expansive views that you simply won’t see anywhere else. It was my turn in some of the lightweights for these segments: the new VW Golf GTI, a nimble and affordable Ford Fiesta ST and the facelifted 2015 Honda Civic Si.

Dropping off the Eastern flanks of the Cascades, the route has a natural overnight stop in the town of  Sisters, Oregon. With a western theme that carefully straddles the border between authentic and touristy. It’s also probably one of the only places where there’s a chance you’ll see a disgraced Olympic ice skater singing karaoke in a local bar. Seriously.

Sisters acts as the gateway to central Oregon, and my first car of day two was perfectly designed to wake up its sleepy residents. The Fiat 500 Abarth has an exhaust note that begs to be played, and play it I did as the route led along back roads from Sisters to Madras. After a short highway stint in the 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer, it was time for some high-powered sedans to blast across the high desert.

Avoid the road on summer weekends, unless you enjoy the view of overloaded Subaru Outbacks going 20 mph with nowhere in sight to pass.

Unlike day one, the second day featured more wide-open roads as the pack of cars headed northwest across rolling hills, accented with deep valleys. The 2015 Hyundai Genesis, equipped with the preferred V-6, and the all-new technological powerhouse Acura TLX started the romp up U.S. Highway 97 and then due east on a challenging stretch of road to the small farming town of Antelope.

First timers might want to ease off a bit on this stretch, as it features a couple of blind crests followed quickly by 90-degree turns. Once you’re comfortable knowing the locations of the aforementioned cliffs, you can increase your pace a bit to follow the natural rhythm of the lightly traveled road.

Turning north at Antelope opens up one of the best driver’s roads in the northwest as the two-laner winds its way back and forth up a narrow valley to the ghost town of Shaniko. The town is owned by a local newspaper publisher and history buff, and features some of the best ice cream in the region.

Walk east on the main street, past the now-closed hotel Shaniko and you discover one of the most bizarre car museums you’ll ever find. Housed in a dilapidated building is an eclectic collection with a dozen or so unrestored vehicles from the first half of the last century, seemingly abandoned in time. The dry climate of the high desert has preserved the relics, now encased in years of dust.

From Shaniko, the route continued on Bakeoven Road, a great road that traverses the high plain before plunging into a canyon carved by the Deschutes River. The Chevrolet SS was my ride for this leg and I could not have been more impressed.

Descended from Australia’s Holden Commodore, the SS is essentially the Chevrolet Caprice police car, wrapped in a package that the public can buy. It carries a 415-hp LS3 V-8 under the hood, giving the SS the street cred that a big rear-drive American sedan needs to succeed. Where other front-drive American sedans might have to gallop, the SS merely lopes confidently along at speeds worthy of a ticket. Fortunately, the SS is also one of the stealthiest performers around.

Modern touches, including paddle shifters and, for 2015, Magnetic Ride Control, earn the SS the chops to compete with tough European competition, including the BMW 5 Series.

A barbeque lunch awaited on the bank of the Deschutes River, where the Imperial River Company, a small hotel and base for whitewater rafting adventures in the town of Maupin hosted the group. While most follow the highway in and out of town, the Deschutes River access road to the east is a more scenic way to sneak out of town. It hugs the bank of the river at a leisurely pace before you turn north at Sherars Falls and winds its way north to Tygh Valley.

Two more powerhouse sedans carried me from Maupin to the town of Dufur. A Mercedes-Benz S550 and a Kia K900 displayed different looks at the future of the luxury sedan, both being exceptionally competent for their intended markets.

The 2015 Jaguar F-Type R powered me over the plains before a long, fast descent into the Columbia River Gorge. With a look that’s as sensuous as the 550-hp V-8 is powerful, the coupe version of the wildly successful F-Type Roadster has helped to create new life for the Jaguar brand. On top of that, the F-Type’s exhaust sings an aggressive note not heard from a production Jaguar in years.

Before the Interstate plowed its way along the shore of the mighty Columbia River, the old two-lane gorge highway carried traffic along the bluffs along the Oregon side. Just east of The Dalles is a famous section of the road, known as the Rowena Curves, and the next car in the rotation for me was the mighty Dodge Viper.

Despite its bright orange color, the 2014 Dodge Viper SRT Coupe seemed almost, gasp, civilized on the twisty segments. Yes, it’s still a Viper, with its huge, wide fenders and beastly stance, but it’s not as edgy as it once was. It’s still an amazingly powerful beast, with its 8.4-liter V-10 snarling from under the half-mile-long hood. The TA package-equipped Viper seems to have more desire to maintain grip than it ever has before, and that’s a very good thing when you have 645 horses under your right foot. Dodge recently dropped the base price of the Viper by $15,000.

After the Viper, my next stint along I-84 in the Columbia River Gorge seemed downright tame in the technological powerhouse that is the Nissan GT-R. But as technology goes, even the GT-R was no match for my final vehicle.

To complete the trip back into the city of Portland, I slid into the carbon-fiber wonder that is the BMW i8 and pulled down the scissor door. Looking more like something created by NASA than a car company, the i8 blends a gasoline engine and an electric motor in a wildly complex symphony to place just the right amount of power to each of the four wheels at the proper time. Together, the powerplants create 357 hp and 420 ft.-lb. of torque.

Constructed of carbon fiber created in Moses Lake, Washington, the i8 is a lightweight wonder with a base price of $136,650. The futuristic look draws cell phone photographers wherever you drive, but escape from the attention is merely a tap of your right foot away.

With such a huge and varied array of hardware available, it would be hard to pick just one to repeat the whole course. The stealthy and speedy Chevrolet SS was quite a surprise, and would be an excellent choice. But, who am I kidding, with 707 hp under your right foot, you’d be a fool not to pick the Dodge Challenger Hellcat.

---